Y

A late borrowing from theAncient GreekletterΥ(U,“ypsilon”),first used to write Greek loanwords in Latin, derived from thePhoenicianletter𐤅(w,“waw”),from theEgyptianhieroglyph𓏲.DoubletofUandV.

Letter

Y(lower casey)

The twenty-fifth letter of thebasic modern Latin alphabet.

Symbol

Y

(chemistry)Symbol foryttrium
(metrology)Symbol for prefixyotta-
(genetics)IUPAC1-letter abbreviation for anypyrimidine
(biochemistry)IUPAC1-letter abbreviation fortyrosine
(travel,aviation)Thereservation booking designatorfor the highest level of economy air fare.
(mathematics,computer science)AFixed-point combinator;especiallyHaskell Curry's combinator defined as λ f.(λ x.f (x x)) (λx.f (x x))

Gallery

Letter styles
Uppercase and lowercase versions ofY,in normal and italic type
Uppercase and lowercaseYinFraktur

English

Pronunciation

(name of letter)IPA^(key):/waɪ/
- Audio(Southern England): (file)
- Audio(US): (file)
Rhymes:-aɪ
Homophones:wye;why(wine–whinemerger)

Etymology 1

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey,pluralYsorY's)

The twenty-fifthletterof the Englishalphabet,calledwyeand written in theLatin script.
Used for the Greek letterΥ(Y,“upsilon”).

Noun

Y(pluralYs)

A figure or mark in the shape of the letterY.
AY-shapedobject, such as a railroad fork or a support for a telescope; awye,abifurcation.
(lepidopterology)A moth of the genusPlusia,having markings resembling the letterY.

Derived terms

Y worm

Etymology 2

Abbreviations.

Interjection

Y

Abbreviationofyes.

Noun

Y(pluralYs)

Abbreviationofyear.(In some contexts asYYorYYYYto indicate only the last 2-digits or all 4-digits.)

Noun

Y

(stenoscript)Abbreviationofyear.

Etymology 3

Clippings.

Proper noun

the Y

(Canada,US)Clipping oftheYMCAorYWCA.
- 2001,Jonathan Franzen,The Corrections:
  He had sat next to Cindy returning from theYand smelled the chlorine on her. A sodden Band-Aid had clung by a few lingering bits of stickum to her knee.

Noun

Y(pluralYs)

(Canada,US,informal)A particularfacilityrun by theYMCA/YWCA.
- a.1969,John Kennedy Toole,A Confederacy of Dunces,Penguin, published1981,→ISBN:
  Of course, the audience up here at the Bronx “Y”will probably be a little parochial, but if I make good in the lecture, I might one day end up speaking down at the Lex. Ave. “Y”where great thinkers like Norman Mailer and Seymour Krim are always airing their views.
- 2021May 17, Jane E. Brody, “A Birthday Milestone: Turning 80!”, inThe New York Times‎^[1],→ISSN:
  When a 50ish woman at myYlearned that I was about to turn 80, she exclaimed, “80 is the new 60, and you set a great example for the rest of us!”

Etymology 4

SeeIJ.

Proper noun

Y

Obsoleteform ofIJ(“a lake (formerly abay) adjoining the city ofAmsterdam,Netherlands”).
- 1813,William Müller,D. P.,Topographical and Military Description of Germany and the Surrounding Country,2nd edition, London: T. Egerton, pages4–5:
  Amsterdam,Hol. fortif. on the gulfYand the Amstel river, 27,000 ho. in the town, nearly as many in the suburbs; 210,000 inh. 1000 rp. 50,000 lm. 6000 sailors; well built, many canals, ground very damp and marshy, very clean streets,[…]

Afar

Letter

Y

The twenty-second and final letter in the Afar alphabet.

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

(letter name):IPA^(key):/əɪ̯/

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-fifthletterof the Afrikaansalphabet,written in theLatin script.

Noun

Y(pluralY's,diminutiveY'tjie)

Y

Azerbaijani

Letter

Yupper case(lower casey)

The thirty-firstletterof the Azerbaijanialphabet,written in theLatin script.

Basque

Pronunciation

IPA^(key):/i ɡreko/,[i ɣ̞re̞.ko̞]

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-sixthletterof the Basquealphabet,calledi grekoand written in theLatin script.

Usage notes

Used chiefly in recent loanwords and foreign proper nouns.

Central Franconian

Pronunciation

/i/,(German-based also)/y/,/yː/

Letter

Y

A letter in the German-based alphabet of Central Franconian.
A letter in the Dutch-based alphabet of Central Franconian.

Usage notes

Only used rarely in loanwords, respectively after the German or Dutch cognate.

Chinese

Pronunciation 1

Mandarin
(Pinyin):wài(wai⁴)

(Zhuyin):ㄨㄞˋ
Cantonese(Jyutping):wai¹
Southern Min
(Hokkien,POJ):u-ai

(Teochew,Peng'im):uai⁵
Wu(Shanghai,Wugniu):¹wa-i

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin:wài
  - Zhuyin:ㄨㄞˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin:wài
  - Wade–Giles:wai⁴
  - Yale:wài
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh:way
  - Palladius:вай(vaj)
  - SinologicalIPA^(key):/waɪ̯⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese,Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping:wai¹
  - Yale:wāi
  - Cantonese Pinyin:wai¹
  - Guangdong Romanization:wei¹
  - SinologicalIPA^(key):/wɐi̯⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien:Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī:u-ai
  - Tâi-lô:u-ai
  - Phofsit Daibuun:u'ay
  - IPA(Xiamen):/u⁴⁴⁻²² ai⁴⁴/

Note:Often realised as one syllable.

- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im:uai⁵
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like:uâi
  - SinologicalIPA^(key):/uai⁵⁵/
Wu
- (Northern:Shanghai)
  - Wugniu:¹wa-i
  - MiniDict:wa^Bìnhi
  - Wiktionary Romanisation(Shanghai):¹hhua-i
  - SinologicalIPA(Shanghai):/ɦua⁵⁵ i²¹/

Note:Often realised as one syllable.

Letter

Y

The twenty-fifth letter of the Latin alphabet.

Pronunciation 2

Mandarin
(Pinyin):yī,yā(yi¹,ya¹)

(Zhuyin):ㄧ, ㄧㄚ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese,common)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin:yī
  - Zhuyin:ㄧ
  - Tongyong Pinyin:yi
  - Wade–Giles:i¹
  - Yale:yī
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh:i
  - Palladius:и(i)
  - SinologicalIPA^(key):/i⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese,official)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin:yā
  - Zhuyin:ㄧㄚ
  - Tongyong Pinyin:ya
  - Wade–Giles:ya¹
  - Yale:yā
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh:ia
  - Palladius:я(ja)
  - SinologicalIPA^(key):/jä⁵⁵/

Letter

Y

The twenty-fifth letter used inPinyin.

Usage notes

《 hán ngữ bính âm phương án 》 defines a standard pronunciation for each letter. However, these pronunciations are rarely used in education; another pronunciation is commonly used instead.
The pronunciation above are only used while referring to letters in Pinyin. They are not used in other context (such as English).

Dutch

Pronunciation

(letter name):IPA^(key):/ɛɪ/
Audio: (file)

Letter

Y(capital,lowercasey)

the twenty-fifth letter of the Dutch alphabet

Finnish

Etymology

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on those of Swedish, German and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. Seethe Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information,andYfor information on the development of the glyph itself. In particular, the use of⟨y⟩for/y/follows the Swedish orthography, which in turn follows Latin.

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-fourthletterof the Finnishalphabet,calledyyand written in theLatin script.

Derived terms

compounds

French

Etymology

FromOld FrenchY,Hy,IfromLatinIacum.^[1]

FrenchWikipediahas an article on:

Y (Somme)

Wikipedia^fr

Pronunciation

(letter name):IPA^(key):/i/
Audio: (file)
Audio: (file)

Letter

FrenchWikipediahas an article on:

Y

Wikipedia^fr

Pronunciation

(letter name):IPA^(key):/i ɡʁɛk/
Audio: (file)

Y(capital,lowercasey)

The twenty-fifth letter of the French alphabet.

Related terms

i grec

Proper noun

Y?

A French commune in theSomme département.

Related terms

References

^https://dicotopo.cths.fr/places/P97397572

German

Pronunciation

(letter name)IPA^(key):/ˈʏpsilɔn/
- Audio: (file)
(phoneme)
- In Greek words generally/ʏ/,/yː/,but in unstressed syllables alternatively/i/(e.g. inpoly-).
- In other borrowings, e.g. from English,/j/,/i/,/aɪ̯/,etc.
- Natively only in proper nouns, mostly in-ay-, -ey-,both pronounced/aɪ̯/.

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-fifth letter of the German alphabet, calledYpsilon.

Hungarian

Pronunciation

(phoneme):IPA^(key):[ˈi]
(letter name):IPA^(key):[ˈipsilon]

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

A letter of the extended Hungarianalphabet,calledipszilonand written in theLatin script.

Usage notes

Also occurs as part of the digraphsGy,Ly,Ny,Ty,though these are considered letters in their own right.

Declension

Inflection (stem in-o-,back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	Y	Y-ok
accusative	Y-t	Y-okat
dative	Y-nak	Y-oknak
instrumental	Y-nal	Y-okkal
causal-final	Y-ért	Y-okért
translative	Y-ná	Y-okká
terminative	Y-ig	Y-okig
essive-formal	Y-ként	Y-okként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	Y-ban	Y-okban
superessive	Y-on	Y-okon
adessive	Y-nál	Y-oknál
illative	Y-ba	Y-okba
sublative	Y-ra	Y-okra
allative	Y-hoz	Y-okhoz
elative	Y-ból	Y-okból
delative	Y-ról	Y-okról
ablative	Y-tól	Y-októl
non-attributive possessive - singular	Y-é	Y-oké
non-attributive possessive - plural	Y-éi	Y-okéi

Possessive formsofY
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	Y-om	Y-aim,Y-jaim
2nd person sing.	Y-od	Y-aid,Y-jaid
3rd person sing.	Y-a,Y-ja	Y-ai,Y-jai
1st person plural	Y-unk	Y-aink,Y-jaink
2nd person plural	Y-otok	Y-aitok,Y-jaitok
3rd person plural	Y-uk,Y-juk	Y-aik,Y-jaik

Derived terms

Y-kromoszóma

Icelandic

Letter

Y(lower casey)

The twenty-eighthletterof the Icelandicalphabet,written in theLatin script.

Ido

Pronunciation

IPA^(key):/j/

Letter

Y(lower casey)

The twenty-fifthletterof the Idoalphabet,written in theLatin script.

Italian

ItalianWikipediahas an article on:

Y

Wikipedia^it

Pronunciation

(letter name)IPA^(key):/i‿ɡˈɡrɛ.ka/,/i‿ɡˈɡrɛ.ko/,/ˈi.psi.lon/^[1]
- Rhymes:-ipsilon
(phonemic realization)IPA^(key):/j/,/i/(varies depending on the loanword)

Letter

Yform(invariable,upper case,lower casey)

the twenty-fifth letter of theLatin alphabet,calledipsilon,i grecoori grecain Italian

Usage notes

The letterYis not considered part of the Italian alphabet. It is found mainly in loanwords.

References

^YinLuciano Canepari,Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Kashubian

Etymology

The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See theKashubian alphabetarticle on Wikipedia for more, andYfor development of the glyph itself.

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The thirty-firstletterof the Kashubianalphabet,written in theLatin script.

Latin

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

A letter in theLatin alphabet,representing the vowels /y/ and /yː/

Usage notes

Historical Latin texts did not generally distinguish short and long vowels orthographically. In modern texts and editions of older texts, the vowels are typically written ⟨Y⟩ and ⟨Ȳ⟩ to mark the length distinction.

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key):/ɨ/

Letter

Y(lower casey)

The thirty-firstletterof the Lower Sorbianalphabet,calledyand written in theLatin script.

Malay

MalayWikipediahas an article on:

Y

Wikipedia^ms

Pronunciation

(Name of letter)IPA^(key):[wai̯]
(Phoneme)IPA^(key):[j]

Letter

Y

The twenty-fifthletterof the Malayalphabet,written in theLatin script.

Nupe

Pronunciation

(phoneme):IPA^(key):/j/

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-eighthletterof the Nupealphabet,written in theLatin script.

Polish

Etymology

The Polish orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See thehistory of Polish orthographyarticle on Wikipedia for more, andYfor development of the glyph itself.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key):/ˈi.ɡrɛk/

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-ninthletterof the Polishalphabet,calledyorigrekand written in theLatin script.

Portuguese

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-fifthletterof the Portuguesealphabet,written in theLatin script.

Noun

Ym(pluralYs)

fork(area where something forks)
Synonyms:forquilha,bifurcação,ramificação

Romanian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key):/j/,/i/

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The thirtiethletterof the Romanianalphabet,calledigrecori grecand written in theLatin script.

Usage notes

Used chiefly in recent loanwords and foreign proper nouns.

Saanich

Pronunciation

IPA^(key):/j/,/jʼ/

Letter

Y

The thirty-seventhletterof the Saanichalphabet,written in theLatin script.

Silesian

Etymology

The Silesian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See theSilesian languagearticle on Wikipedia for more, andYfor development of the glyph itself.

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The thirty-firstletterof the Silesianalphabet,written in theLatin script.

Slovene

SloveneWikipediahas an article on:

Y

Wikipedia^sl

Letter

Y(capital,lowercasey)

The thirty-thirdletterof the Slovenealphabet(Resian), written in theLatin script.

Somali

Pronunciation

(phoneme):IPA^(key):/ʝ/,/ɪ̯/,/i̯/
(letter name):IPA^(key):/ʝæ/

Letter

Yupper case(lower casey)

The twenty-secondletterof the Somalialphabet,calledyaand written in theLatin script.

Usage notes

The twenty-second letter of theSomalialphabet, which followsArabic abjadorder. It is preceded byHand followed byA.

Spanish

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

the 26th letter of the Spanish alphabet

Tagalog

Etymology

BorrowedfromSpanishY.Each pronunciation has a different source:

Filipino alphabet pronunciation is influenced byEnglishY.
Abakada alphabet pronunciation is influenced by Baybayin characterᜌ(ya).
Abecedario pronunciation is fromSpanishY.

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog)
- IPA^(key):/ˈwaj/[ˈwaɪ̯](letter name, Filipino alphabet)
  - Rhymes:-aj
- IPA^(key):/ˈja/[ˈja](letter name, Abakada alphabet)
  - Rhymes:-a
- IPA^(key):/ˈje/[ˈjɛ](letter name, Abecedario)
  - Rhymes:-e
- IPA^(key):/j/[j](phoneme)
- IPA^(key):/i/[ɪ](phoneme, used as a vowel)
  - Rhymes:-i

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey,Baybayin spellingᜏᜌ᜔)

The twenty-seventhletterof the Tagalogalphabet(theFilipino alphabet), calledwayand written in theLatin script.

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey,Baybayin spellingᜌ)

The twentiethletterof the Tagalogalphabet(theAbakada alphabet), calledyaand written in theLatin script.

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey,Baybayin spellingᜌᜒ)

(historical)The twenty-seventhletterof the Tagalogalphabet(theAbecedario), calledyeand written in theLatin script.

Turkish

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-eighthletterof the Turkishalphabet,calledyeand written in theLatin script.

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội)IPA^(key):[ʔi˧˧ zaːj˨˩],[ʔi˧˧ ɣəː˨˩ zɛt̚˧˦]
(Huế)IPA^(key):[ʔɪj˧˧ jaːj˦˩],[ʔɪj˧˧ ɣəː˦˩ ʐɛt̚˦˧˥]
(Saigon)IPA^(key):[ʔɪj˧˧ jaːj˨˩],[ʔɪj˧˧ ɣəː˨˩ ɹɛk̚˦˥]
Phonetic spelling:i dài, i gờ rét

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-ninthletterof the Vietnamesealphabet,calledi dàiori gờ-rétand written in theLatin script.

Welsh

Pronunciation

(standard)IPA^(key):/ə/,/əː/

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-ninthletterof the Welshalphabet,calledeand written in theLatin script.It is preceded byW.

Mutation

Y cannot be mutated but, being a vowel, does takeh-prothesis,for example with the wordysgol(“school; ladder”):

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
ysgol	unchanged	unchanged	hysgol
Note:Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Yoruba

Pronunciation

(phoneme):IPA^(key):/j/
(letter name):IPA^(key):/jí/

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-fifthletterof the Yorubaalphabet,calledyíand written in theLatin script.

Zulu

Letter

Y(upper case,lower casey)

The twenty-fifthletterof the Zulualphabet,written in theLatin script.